Sephora taken to court over products from Israeli brand Ahava

LVMH-owned Sephora has been taken to court by the Palestinian rights organisation CAPJPO-EuroPalestine over the sale of cosmetics brand Ahava, according to press reports.

The beauty retailer stocks the Ahava range, which according to the association is produced in territories in the West Bank illegally occupied by Israel.

CAPJPO-EuroPalestine claims by occupying these territories Israel is committing a war crime; and in retailing the products, Sephora is supporting an illegal cause.

This, the association argues, has led it to call on the justice system in an attempt to cancel the contract between Sephora and Ahava.

In addition, the group organised a protest in front of the Sephora store in the Carrousel du Louvre last week.

No one was available to comment from Sephora or LVMH at the time of publishing.

Ahava under scrutiny

This is not the first time Ahava has been under scrutiny. Late last year, a shipment of the products worth €38,000 was destroyed by the Palestinian custom officials in accordance with its policy to prevent the import and sale of products produced in the settlements.

Dutch officials have also investigated the products in the past regarding whether Dead Sea Cosmetics, which manufacturers the Ahava products, was benefiting from lower tax tariffs reserved for ‘Made in Israel’ products.

In addition, the US women’s peace organisation, CodePink, organised a boycott of the products.

Entitled Stolen Beauty, the boycott claimed the company is stealing Palestinian natural resources in the illegally occupied territories of the West Bank in the form of Dead Sea minerals and mud.

“Don’t let the “Made in Israel” sticker fool you—when you buy Ahava products you help finance the destruction of hope for a peaceful and just future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the campaign reads.

"There is a thing called the EU-Israel Association Agreement. That agreement means that Israeli goods get preferential access to EU markets, and that agreement has a human rights clause, and that human rights clause says that in the event of human rights abuses on either side the agreement shall be suspended. So our question to our government today should be this - how many human rights abuses do you need? How many women dying in child birth, because they can't pass the checkpoints through the Israeli authorities, do you need?"